Writing Just for fun, let's talk about message.

[ElliePorter]

The theme is....

70% UOOOOOOOH SEGGS!
10% Focused on fighting and how to be the most powerful delinquent
10% Love problems
10% Random Slice Of Life Moments

 

[LilRora]

I personally don't write stories just to convey some message, but I usually end up including some. Most often related to power and immortality, sometimes also love, cause that's what I write about.

 

[StrongArm]

Yes, i always have a theme and message in mind when i write...

My unfinished demon lord novel is about apathy & depression.
My novel 'no more nobles' is about the values of democracy VS authoritarianism.
My NTR novel ive been working on is about Masculinity. (Specifically about masculinity being a good trait to cultivate if you are male)
My scifi space colonization novel toys with a lot of themes - its still in the concept stage, but the themes it toys with are humanitarianism VS efficiency

 

[Sleds]

I don't think it's a good message but mine should be "Do everything for your lover one, even if that cost the world." if I did it write.

 

[dummycake]

carpe diem

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

Nope. I’m here to entertain and not to preach.

I won’t deny that I find this type of misconception frustrating. You can have a message shared through a character’s actions and view of other’s actions. For example, my message on heroes comes from a true hero dying. Most people aren’t going to care about the message. They’ll just cry that the best and kindest side character is gone. But those that do will appreciate something interesting, philosophically to munch on after they read it.

carpe diem

@dummycake it’s Carpy Diem! Inside joke for a particular fiction.

 

[Corty]

I won’t deny that I find this type of misconception frustrating. You can have a message shared through a character’s actions and view of other’s actions. For example, my message on heroes comes from a true hero dying. Most people aren’t going to care about the message. They’ll just cry that the best and kindest side character is gone. But those that do will appreciate something interesting, philosophically to munch on after they read it.

I just write what I think is fun and I am not looking to dish out any message besides a fun read. Not everything needs something to be conveyed besides a good feeling in the reader that his/her time was respected and not wasted by reading my story.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

I just write what I think is fun and I am not looking to dish out any message besides a fun read. Not everything needs something to be conveyed besides a good feeling in the reader that his/her time was respected and not wasted by reading my story.

Totally understand that part! It’s the conflating of a message within a story with preaching/being preachy that is the misconception I’m talking about.

 

[BlackKnightX]

I won’t deny that I find this type of misconception frustrating. You can have a message shared through a character’s actions and view of other’s actions. For example, my message on heroes comes from a true hero dying. Most people aren’t going to care about the message. They’ll just cry that the best and kindest side character is gone. But those that do will appreciate something interesting, philosophically to munch on after they read it.

The underlying theme or message is actually an inherent part of every story whether the author intends it to or not.

Think about it. Say, you write a scene where the MC beats the bad guy by working with others. As an author, maybe you just find a team play to be cool—like a party in a video game—and nothing more than that, but you still send out a message through that scene alone without even realizing it.

As a reader, stuff like teamwork and friendship are pretty common, so you wouldn't think about it. But subconsciously, you're actually affirmed of your belief that, yes, working together does payoff. So it goes.

When it gets fun, though, is when the message is thought-provoking. Like what @Tsuru said about rough sex being the best sex or what @georgelee5786 said that sometimes tyranny and brutality are the fastest and best way to fix a nation. You might not agree with it, but it gets you thinking.

 

[Seaspecter]

How hard it is to find your place in the world when you're different.

 

[MintiLime]

So I began writing without a message in mind, but then quickly developed a message since my story is based on human interactions with faith systems.

Message:

Devotion can be an extremely powerful tool for good or evil, with morality being relative yet absolute.

You can both the hero or villain of someone else’s story, but at the end of the day you will fall more to one side of the grey scale, even if you are morally grey.

Intention and results BOTH matter.

Choose to be on the side of good. Good transcends politics and religious views and everything in this world.

Thank you for reading that rambling mess.

 

[Tsuru]

The underlying theme or message is actually an inherent part of every story whether the author intends it to or not.

Think about it. Say, you write a scene where the MC beats the bad guy by working with others. As an author, maybe you just find a team play to be cool—like a party in a video game—and nothing more than that, but you still send out a message through that scene alone without even realizing it.

As a reader, stuff like teamwork and friendship are pretty common, so you wouldn't think about it. But subconsciously, you're actually affirmed of your belief that, yes, working together does payoff. So it goes.

When it gets fun, though, is when the message is thought-provoking. Like what @Tsuru said about rough sex being the best sex or what @georgelee5786 said that sometimes tyranny and brutality are the fastest and best way to fix a nation. You might not agree with it, but it gets you thinking.

@georgelee5786 As someone that have read lot of fantasy (mage/elf) chinese WNs, i agree with this statement about Tyranny/brutality, fastest method to cure nation

To pull out the proverb often used, "strong disease require strong medicine"

Against, noble families that existed for 200years, that have rotten descendants, so of course, killing them all, is the best method, even though it's "illegal" and "morally bad". Because despite being stupid, they are shameless, and could find ton of counters to keep their titles/lives if they are allowed time. Or even revolt. Or worse. Even betraying the country to enemy, or even summoning demons.
Without speaking of emperors/leaders that had like 1000years of continuation. They got shit ton of money, control armies, control any insidious means or organizations, control the propaganda, have gigantic networks of relationships - even to enemy countries.
Even if the ancestor of a family is a saint, nothing can prove that late late generation will be good people.
To the point that there is the meme/proverb that after 4 generations a rich family will be destroyed.

"A bad guy isnt scary, what is scary is that the bad guy is smart"
Corrupt people are smart. And will control the "rules".
Best way to beat them, is to "go outside the rules".

 

[AliceShiki]

Can't say I write with any message in mind. I just tell the story I want to tell.

If anything, I kinda wanna rewrite the only novel I've written to completion, and I guess it would end up delivering a message of prioritize yourself over love in some way... Kinda. To some extent, I guess.

It really isn't a priority to me in any form when writing anything though. I just wanna write what I wanna write. And I just wanna rewrite that novel because it's way too amateurish and has real room for improvement.

 

[Fallen_Pages]

Nope, have fun reading, that's all... And if someone finds a message in my novel, I would advise not to follow it.